Bicycle Maintenance Made Easy!

Clean It Right

Clean Your Dirty Chain The Easy WayIn the old days chains were often cleaned in a coffee can with kerosene or turpentine. Today, Finish Line's eco-friendly Citrus Degreaser used with their sophisticated Shop Quality Chain Cleaner tool (photo, right) does the
job in seconds and with little or no mess. All you have to do is put degreaser into the tool, snap it onto the chain and backpedal!

Keep Your Clean Chain Clean with Finish Line's Grunge BrushFinish Line's Grunge Brush is an economical and easy way to quickly clean your bike chain and gears when they aren't too dirty, which is the easy way to keep your drivetrain from ever getting too gunked up. This thin, stiff-bristled brush fits into small places and can be used "dry" to remove the heavy stuff, or the bristles can be moistened with degreaser to do a more thorough cleaning job. Then you can wipe the chain and cogs dry with a rag to finish the job.

Clean The Drivetrain With Speed DegreaserFor keeping the rest of your drivetrain spic and span, give Finish Line's Speed Degreaser a shot. This super-duty cleaner features a powerful turbo sprayer and is formulated with strong, fast drying biodegradable cleaning agents. Speed Degreaser will clean the grimiest of drivetrain parts in just seconds — it's that fast!

Floss Your Bike TeethFinish Line's Gear Floss is an ingenious tool that makes cleaning your cogs easier and faster than ever. It also fits into any nook and cranny on your bike for ease of cleaning hard-to-reach areas. It's made of intertwined micro fibers in a 20-inch rope. The micro fibers attract and hold grit and grime great making cleaning easy. Use Gear Floss to clean your cassette cogs, derailleur pulleys, bottom bracket, chainrings, brakes, pedal/crankarm interface and more!

Lube It Right

Lube The ChainThe chain is the heart of your drivetrain and a dry or dirty chain can seriously degrade your cycling experience. It makes your bicycle signicantly harder to pedal, can cause annoying squeaking, and on a bike with gears it can hamper the shifting too. To avoid these issues and keep your bike running right, keep your chain clean and well lubricated at all times with Finish Line chain lubes.

Lube The DerailleursBesides the chain, it's important to lubricate the front and rear derailleurs too since they're working hard with every shift. They have pivoting parts, springs and pulleys to move your chain from cog to cog and chainring to chainring. To do this smoothly, efficiently and quietly, and to minimize drivetrain wear and tear, keep your derailleurs clean and lubricated with Finish Line's great products.

Lube The Brake And Shift LeversThe brake and shift levers on your bicycle also have important working parts, springs and pivots that need to be kept clean and lubed so that you can brake and shift optimally. We recommend using Finish Line's dry-style lubes. Run your levers through their range of motion while applying lube to the pivot points. Also, apply lube to the adjusting barrel threads to keep them turning easily and to prevent corrosion.

Try Finish Line's Double Shot OilerCyclists commonly ask us what the right way to lubricate a chain is? We're partial to Finish Line's Double Shot Oiler. This cool tool is your lube and application tool in one. It delivers a measured amount of Finish Line lubricant right where it's needed link by link.

It ensures no missed links, no wasted lube, no mess, and no drips on the rear wheel. Plus, the Double Shot screws onto all Finish Line squeeze bottles so you can use it with your favorite lube. The Double Shot is the fast, accurate and mess-free way to lube your chain.

Don't Just Clean Your Bike — Detail It!

Get It Nice And Clean With Finish Line's Super Bike WashAfter a long mountain-bike ride, or a long winter in the basement, treat your two-wheel pride and joy to a complete washing. It's fast, easy and fun with Finish Line's Super Bike Wash. It has special surfactants and cleaning agents to quickly break down the dirt and grime that tends to accumulate on your bicycle frame and components over time and it sprays on for ease of use.

Make Cleaning Easy With A Brush SetYou can use a sponge or a rag to clean your bike, but we think you'll find it a lot easier and even more fun to do the job the way the pros do: with special brushes made for the task. And Finish Line makes the perfect set. There are sizes and shapes that make cleaning the frame, wheels, hard-to-access places, and even the tires easy. Plus, all the brushes are designed to clean but never to scratch your frame the way abrasive and/or dirty rags and sponges can.

Give Your Baby That Showroom ShineAn expertly polished bicycle looks fantastic and even seems to ride more easily. Plus, modern frames and components are made of high-tech materials and feature quality finishes, so they are designed to be shiny, bright and stylish. More importantly, polished frames and parts resist dirt and moisture so they stay cleaner longer. These are all reasons why we like Finish Line's Showroom Polish & Protectant. It's an easy way to keep your ride beautiful and it also provides a protective film that resists abrasives, repels water and inhibits rust!

Other Stuff To Do

Grease Your SeatpostWe recommend removing your seatpost every few months and applying a thin layer of Finish Line Grease to the part that goes inside your frame. This will ensure that the seatpost never corrodes and seizes inside the frame and it also keeps it easy to raise and lower your seat to adjust it.

Lube Your SuspensionOil-damped suspension systems require some TLC in order to keep working smoothly over the years. For basic maintenance, keep the gaskets, O-rings and stanchion legs lubricated with Finish Line's Stanchion Lube (photo, right). And, most shock makers recommend having the shock oil replaced with new oil once a year.

Caliper BrakesCaliper brakes squeeze the rims to stop you, so it's important to keep the rims clean of any rubber deposits from the brake pads and clean of grime and dirt, too. Finish Line's Speed Degreaser works great for this. Then, once the rims are good and clean, check the brake pads. Glazed, hardened or dirty pads can cause a loss of braking power and squeaking noises. Clean them by scrubbing off any debris and hardened glaze with sandpaper.

Disc BrakesWhether cable or hydraulic, disc brakes offer impressive stopping power. But to maintain it, you have to keep them clean and the ideal way is with Finish Line's Speed Degreaser that easily removes both dirt and glaze off the rotors. Just be sure to replace the pads if they get chipped or contaminated with grease and grime.